<p> MBCT has been successful in preventing depressive relapse. However, its efficacy has not been studied in non-mental health settings for stress, affect, and level of mindfulness. In this study, participants were selected on a volunteer basis after enrolling in an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) group at a health and wellness center. Prior to beginning the group, participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Positive/Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Participants completed the PSS, PANAS, and MAAS after week four, and at the completion of the eight-week course. Twenty-two participants were included in the study. Results were computed with a one-way repeated measures ANOVA. Post hoc pairwise comparisons or paired-samples t-tests, where appropriate, were computed to examine the specificity of changes over time. Descriptive data was gathered including demographic data and homework compliance. The following two follow-up questions were included for further descriptive data: 1) On a scale of 1-10 (1 = not at all important, 10 =extremely important), how important has this program been for you? 2) Please say why you gave it that rating. Results revealed decreases in perceived stress, increased positive affect, decreased negative affect, and increased overall level of mindfulness by week eight. Qualitative data supported the empirical data. This data suggests MBCT may serve as a cost effective method for managing stress and providing useful skills in the daily lives of individuals in non-clinical and/or community populations.</p>

<p> The neural substrate of interactions of working memory (WM) with socio-emotional processing is poorly understood in schizophrenia. This study builds on published papers using a delayed match to sample design to study the interaction of WM load with type of distracter (socially relevant faces vs. socially irrelevant geometric designs [FvG]) presented briefly during the WM maintenance period. Based on previously published findings, we hypothesize: (1) The FvG difference in brain activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the task maintenance period will be largest at the highest WM load. (2) Among schizophrenia/ schizoaffective patients and healthy controls the magnitude of the face vs. geometric design (FvG) contrast in brain activity in the amygdala during the task maintenance period will follow a quadratic pattern across WM load when averaged over face type. (3) Among schizophrenia patients, the magnitude of the FvG contrast in brain activity in the amygdala and DLPFC at the greatest WM load will be correlated with negative symptoms. </p><p> Individuals between the ages of 18-55 diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (N = 12) and non-psychiatric controls (N = 20) matched with the patients on age, gender, paternal education and paternal socioeconomic status underwent structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). To assess the effect of implicit socioemotional modulation on brain activity during WM, the effect of facial distraction on brain activation was assessed for WM of pseudowords at three syllable loads (1, 2, and 3) across several face valence types and contrasted with the effect of a geometric distracter. </p><p> Results: Although patients performed significantly above chance, they were less accurate than controls with no difference in response latency. When the FvG contrast was tested for response latency, we observed a significant quadratic effect of WM load in healthy controls but a linear effect among patients. Similar patterns were found for response accuracy but were not statistically significant. With regard to neural activity, we found a significant bilateral linear trend of percent signal change on WM load for the FvG contrast in the DLPFC. among controls, with brain activation to faces greater than activation to designs only at the highest WM load. In the amygdala we observed a significant bilateral quadratic effect of percent signal change on WM load for the FvG contrast in the control group. We observed a significant difference in neural activation patterns in patients compared to controls in the DLPFC and the amygdala. Specifically, in patients, we observed a quadratic instead of a linear trend in the DLPFC but only in the right hemisphere. In the amygdala, the patients displayed a quadratic trend also only in the right hemisphere. In neither controls nor patients did individual differences in the quadratic effect of brain activity in the amygdala correlate with the quadratic effect in response time or accuracy. Although the correlation between the magnitude of the quadratic trend in the right amygdala at the highest WM load with general psychopathology was moderately large in patients, neither this effect nor any other brain activation effects were significantly correlated with psychopathology. </p><p> Confirming hypothesis one, controls showed the largest difference in brain activity of the FvG contrast in the DLPFC during the maintenance period at the highest WM load. However, in patients we saw significantly decreased percent signal change in DLPFC at the highest WM load on the FvG contrast in the maintenance period. For hypothesis two we observed a quadratic pattern of WM load on the FvG contrast in the maintenance period for both controls and patients, although this effect was only present in the right hemisphere of patients. Furthermore, contrary to hypothesis 3 we did not observe significant correlations between symptom severity and the magnitude of the FvG contrast in brain activity in the amygdala and DLPFC at the greatest WM load. These results suggest a separate process of social-discrimination is taking place in controls. However, this process appears to be impaired in individuals with schizophrenia. This disruption may be due to poor integration of different brain areas and interhemispheric communication. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.) </p>

<p> The current study investigated the effectiveness of using a brief mindfulness intervention for reducing test anxiety with college students, with the related goals of increasing level of mindfulness and increasing performance on a word list recall task. The effectiveness of incorporating an environmental cue, meant to act as a reminder for participants to engage in mindfulness, was also explored. Sixty-four college students were assigned to one of four groups: each group differed according to the presence or absence of the mindfulness training and environmental cue. Participants receiving mindfulness training could choose to participate in up to four 30-minute mindfulness training sessions over a two-week period. Each participant was assessed for level of test anxiety, level of mindfulness, and number of correct words recalled from a word list recall task both before and after the mindfulness training. Difference scores revealed no significant main effects or interactions related to the availability of mindfulness training or the presence of an environmental cue. However, both groups that received mindfulness training saw non-significant increases in level of mindfulness while decreases in mindfulness were seen for the groups that did not receive training. Exploratory analyses in regards to relationships found for both pre-test and post-test measures revealed significant correlations, such that as test anxiety scores decreased, mindfulness scores increased. Other interesting relationships included a positive correlation between test anxiety and the mindfulness Observing subscale, such that higher levels of test anxiety are associated with a student&rsquo;s increased ability to notice their inner experiences, and a negative correlation between the test anxiety Emotionality subscale and the mindfulness Nonjudging subscale, such that decreased autonomic responses, are associated with a student&rsquo;s increased ability to not judge those inner experiences. Implications for future research and limitations of the current study are discussed.</p>

<p> Adherence to psychotropic medication is a critical aspect of treatment for the management of psychotic disorders. While the literature on the need for medication adherence is extensive, little research has explored the relationship between the negative symptoms of psychosis and medication adherence. Since negative symptoms are enduring, stable, and strongly correlated with poor outcome, it is vitally important for research to explore the role of negative symptoms in regards to adherence to psychotropic medication. Given its potentially significant consequences for treatment interventions, the purpose of this study was to contribute to the exceedingly limited body of research exploring the relationship between the negative symptoms seen in psychosis and medication adherence. This study examined if there is a relationship between the two and whether causality could be determined should a significant relationship exist between medication adherence and negative symptoms. This study utilized data previously collected at the UCLA Aftercare Research Program for studies examining aspects of outpatient psychiatric treatment. The 148 participants had a mean age of 22.5 years and were in the midst of their first psychotic episode upon study entry. Data from the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, and medication adherence ratings were collected over the course of 12 months. Analyses revealed a significant relationship between the presence of negative symptoms and medication nonadherence. Analyses examining the temporal relationship between the two variables revealed that initial medication nonadherence was significantly associated with subsequent negative symptoms. However, once the impact of positive symptoms was controlled for as a potential mediating variable, the strength of the relationship between medication adherence and negative symptoms dissipated. After controlling for the role of reality distortion, the only negative symptoms significantly associated with medication nonadherence were the BPRS Negative Symptom Factor, BPRS Emotional Withdrawal, and BPRS Self-Neglect. Consequently, it appears that negative symptoms are more strongly associated with positive symptoms than with medication adherence. Replication of these findings and further research exploring the relationship between positive and negative symptoms as they relate to medication adherence is needed in order to improve treatment interventions focused on medication adherence.</p>

<p> One conceptualization of emotional awareness is described as attention to one&rsquo;s emotions and clarity of one&rsquo;s emotions. Clarity has been further divided into source awareness (i.e., knowing the causes of emotions) and type awareness (identifying actual emotions). Emotional awareness has been examined in relation to suspiciousness, one of four cognitive-perceptual disturbances in schizotypy. Studies have not, however, examined all three facets of emotional awareness in the other three cognitive-perceptual disturbances and have not examined attributional styles in conjunction with emotional awareness and their relation to cognitive-perceptual disturbances in schizotypy. In addition, previous studies have not examined self-report measures of emotional awareness in conjunction with behavioral/qualitative measures. The current study examined these factors using a cross-sectional design. In this study, 178 undergraduates completed self-report measures of emotional awareness, cognitive-perceptual disturbances, emotional arousal, and attributional style, in addition to completing behavioral tasks assessing type awareness and attention to emotions and a qualitative interview assessing source awareness. Results showed that low type awareness significantly predicted ideas of reference (after controlling for emotional arousal, source awareness, and attention to emotions) and suspiciousness (after controlling for sex, emotional arousal, attention, and source awareness). In addition, low internality for negative events was significantly associated with suspiciousness and odd beliefs/magical thinking. These findings build upon previous work in this area and have implications for potential treatments for cognitive and perceptual disturbances associated with schizotypy. Future directions for additional research are also discussed. </p><p>

<p> Given the increasing number of older adults in the population, the fact that about 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 will develop mild cognitive impairment, and the substantial individual, familial, and financial burden associated with such disorders, the need for innovative research examining cognitive impairment in older adults is evident. The present study used a microlongitudinal design to assess cognition and contextual factors that may affect cognition for 14 consecutive days using a daily diary method in older adults with varying degrees of cognitive function. This study design enables investigation of concurrent associations between variables, as well as providing unique information not gleaned from the traditional focus on mean values of cognition. The present study had two broad aims: 1) to compare variability in cognition in older adults with varying degrees of cognitive impairment and 2) to investigate relationships between daily cognitive performance, variability in cognitive performance, and contextual factors that may influence daily cognitive performance and variability in older adults with varying degrees of cognitive impairment. Results suggest there was sufficient intraindividual variability in daily cognition to warrant investigation of within-person associations. Furthermore, the contextual factors of pain, stress, and sleep were predictive of cognitive performance, but with significance and directionality of these associations depending on level of measurement (baseline, daily, or mean values). Finally, associations between contextual factors and cognition were frequently conditional upon baseline cognitive status. The findings highlight the need for continued examination of these associations to expand our understanding of cognition in older adults and to discover potential targets for interventions to attenuate cognitive decline.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2007. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 130-141).

<p> Overgeneral memory (OGM) is a phenomenon of reduced autobiographical memory specificity observed in major depressive disorder (MDD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individuals demonstrating OGM tend to describe past events generally rather than specifically recalling single memory occurrences. Research shows that OGM is perpetuated by three mechanisms: capture in the memory hierarchy due to trait rumination (CaR), functional avoidance of specific memory retrieval (FA), and impaired executive control (X), which together make up the CaR-FA-X model of OGM. Research on the CaR-FA-X model has historically looked at each mechanism in isolation. The current research aimed to compare the contributions of all three mechanisms to a measure of OGM, as well as to investigate possible interactions between the mechanisms, and compare the contributions of the CaR-FA-X model to those of an encoding predictor. Psychometric data on the three CaR-FA-X mechanisms, autobiographical memory specificity, cognitive attributional style, and mental health were collected from 107 undergraduate psychology students via online surveys, then analyzed in a hierarchical linear regression model. Executive control explained significant unique variance in OGM, with rumination making an indirect contribution. No other anticipated contributions from the CaR-FA-X model or memory encoding were observed. Methodological issues in non-clinical and computerized OGM research are highlighted.</p><p>

<p> This thesis seeks to explore the effects of food and food focus on the cognitive phenomenon of boundary extension (BE). BE occurs when people are asked to remember pictures. It is an error of commission that takes place within milliseconds and results in people reporting the picture they previously saw with wider boundaries than it actually had. Although much research points toward the automaticity of this effect, other studies indicate that picture characteristics and individual differences among participants can moderate BE. To test for how pictures of food and the individual difference of food focus impact boundary ratings, participants completed the Power of Food Scale as a measure of food focus and then rated pictures pairs depicting food and nonfood objects for how close-up or far away the second image in each pair (i.e., target pictures) was as compared to the first. They also gave a confidence rating for the boundaries they reported. BE was measured using four picture conditions: two involving identical pictures (i.e., close-close and wide-wide) and two involving non-identical pictures (i.e., close-wide and wide-close). As predicted, participants produced boundary ratings indicative of BE. Less expected was that participants reported target food pictures as closer than target nonfood pictures when the first member of the picture pair was shown at a wide angle. As for the individual difference of food focus, follow-up analyses revealed that participants with high food focus showed greater BE than participants with low food focus in response to food pictures; however, this difference was only found to be significant for identical trials. It could be that people with high levels of food focus automatically engage in higher levels of food avoidance such that the boundary extension pattern is exaggerated. Potential clinical implications for the findings as related to eating disorders are discussed.</p><p>

<p> This thesis explores schizophrenia from a depth psychological and neuropsychological perspective with the goal of contributing to understanding the experience of schizophrenia and improving its treatment, thereby helping to relieve the helpless feelings of both people in the counseling room. It addresses the research question: How can schizophrenia be explained as a metaphor for the experience of an inability to tolerate the conflicting dichotomies between The Real and The Imaginary? Using an alchemical hermeneutic methodology, the research weaves together the author&rsquo;s clinical work with Lacanian theory, the work of psychoanalyst Darian Leader, Jungian analyst James Hillman&rsquo;s concept of pathologizing, and the trauma theory of Donald Kalsched. Drawing on these theorists and current neuroscientific findings, the author works toward an equilibrium between the conscious and unconscious mind in a dialogical process of finding and giving meaning to the experience of schizophrenia through metaphors and the alchemy of language.</p><p>